Death's Messanger
by Susuki-san
Summary: A strange girl is found on the plains unconsious amoungst ruins of a campsite. Fearing the worst, the woman that found her hides the thruth of the gorey scene. But when the girl's abilities come into play, can she really handle the truth?


**Chapter One- A Girl from the Plains**

I woke to the smell of rice and beans, with perhaps a hint of warm cider. It smelled delicious. _Joab must be cooking dinner. Smells nice, I wonder when it's going to be finished._ My eyes fluttered open, and I asked, "Big brother, when's the food going to be done…? Huh?" I sat up, and looked around. It wasn't the camp I had set up with my brothers. It had a nomadic pattern of cloth for the walls; it was a very large tent. A girl, with dark green hair with a pony tail dangling from the top of her head, was busily cooking away. "Who are…?"

"Ah, I see you're awake," the girl said. She walked over with a bowl in her hand, and gave it to me. _That's where the smell of the rice came from! Looks good._ But I stared up at the girl, unsure. _Can I trust her? Who is she?_

"I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. You're safe now," the girl said. I scooped up some of the rice, and tasted it. _This is good!_ I dug my spoon in, and ate some more. Taking a sip of the cider next to the mattress I was on, I smiled nervously.

"I'm Ryuuko, ma'am," I said, and swallowed another spoonful of rice. "I come from the Western Isles."

"Ryuuko?" Lyn repeated. "What an interesting name. What does it mean?" I shrugged, and continued eating.

"I think it means 'dragon child..' My father gave the name to me a few weeks after I was born. 'ryuu' means 'dragon' and 'ko' means 'child,' making it 'dragon child.' I don't appreciate the name, but hey, it's what I respond to."

Lyn nodded, but she still didn't look like she understood. I sighed, and set down the bowl as I checked myself over. "Do you know where my bag is? It's brown with a red clasp on it."

"This is it, correct?" asked Lyn. She pulled the bag from behind a seat, and handed it to me. I dug through it, checking every book and scrap of paper to make sure that everything was there. _Books, maps, vulnerary, more maps, where is it, more maps…where did it go? Where is—AH!_

With a triumphant expression, I pulled out a mirror and a wad of green cloth. "Here they are! I was wondering where these things got to!" I set the mirror on my lap and began to tie my hair back with a small leather string, and put my brown hair up in a bun. Then I settled a headdress that looked like a hood over the bun, and finished it by covering my nose and mouth with the last of the green cloth. "Okay, I'm a happy person!"

Lyn laughed nervously. "You're a strange girl, Ryuuko. What were you doing in the Saecen plains? I can see that you are a traveler."

"Uh huh. I'm traveling through here with my brothers. Have you seen them anywhere?" I asked. I brushed myself off as I stood up, and looked down at my clothes. _Dirt, mud, and a little tear here and there…not that bad. I need to get a new cloak soon, though._

"Brothers? No, I only found you. You were unconscious amongst a ruin of a campsite."

I stopped, and my mouth dropped open. "Ruins? Campsite?" I felt my whole body go numb. "…No. My brothers—they would've—no, that can't be." I raced out of the tent, running across the plains at high speed. "Luke! Ben! Jobe, Michael, Jacob, Paul! Joshua, John, Phillip! ISAAC!!" Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as I ran.

"Ryuuko! Wait a moment!" Lyn was shouting from behind me. I stopped running, and broke down crying. Lyn was soon at my side, watching me bawl and wail.

"M-my b-brothers! Th-they're gone—wh-what am I gonna do?" I sobbed. I hated crying in front of people, but I instantly felt alone. _Where are you? Older brothers, please come back!_ "Wh-where are th-they?!"

"Ryuuko, calm down!" Lyn said quiet, soothing manner. I managed to stop crying, which took an effot. Usually, when I cried, which was hardly never, it would last for hours. Even my brothers couldn't stop me from crying, which would spook them. They were everything to me. If they couldn't get me to stop, nothing could. I'd just have to stop eventually on my own. Lyn just hugged me, waiting for me to stop trembling. _She…she's so nice.I'm a complete, total stranger, and yet she didn't panic when I went into one of my mood swings. I don't believe it. There are nice women in the world._

"Just calm down, Ryuuko. Let's go back to my tent, we'll figure something out, alright?" Lyn said, taking my arm. I nodded, wiped away the last of my tears, and we both started the walk back to her camp.

That was until we heard shouting, swearing, and breaking branches. Lyn instantly held a hand in front of me, and whispered, "What's that noise?"

"…Bandits?" I asked in the same whisper.

"Possibly. Come on, follow me," replied Lyn. We silently crept through the brush, and peered around a few bushes. Sure enough there were three bandits. They seemed to be swaying as they walked.

"Are they drunk?"

Lyn shrugged, and whispered, "They must be coming to attack the village! We have to stop them!" I nodded, and started to stand up but Lyn pulled me back down. "Don't be stupid! You had brothers, right? That means that they protected you. I know you can't fight. Go and find somewhere safe to hide."

"What?" I asked. My cheeks turned red, and I replied, "I know I can't fight, but I'll be able to help, I know it! I'm a tactician. I may not be much, but at least I'm helping, right?"

Lyn stared, like she was studying me. Then she nodded, and said, "Follow me. Hurry!"

We walked around the bush, and I shadowed her as we slowly made our way towards the bandits. "I think we should just pick them off, one by one," I whispered.

"That's cowardly!" Lyn exclaimed, but it didn't matter anymore. One of the bandits had heard her, and started to stagger towards us. He grinned a lopsided grin, and I shuddered. _Way too familiar—these guys must be what were left when Joshua and John took out those bandits…oh, dear._ He laughed, and swayed again.

Lyn pushed me back, and attacked him quickly. I had never seen anyone fall so fast. Maybe because I was so used to seeing my brother's magic or axe. A sword…it had a different kind of feel to it. Swift and effortless, it drew back quickly. But either way, I still preferred axes any day. But the man fell so quickly, I shuddered. _Never make Lyn angry. Unless you can run faster than her, or have a horse, or a wyvern, or a ship, or a—_

"Ryuuko! Wake up, let's go!" Lyn shouted. She wiped down the road in pursuit of the last two bandits, and hurried after her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I called after her. "Can't you—LYN! BEHIND YOU!"

"Wha—AH!" Lyn whirled around to see the oncoming bandit, who landed a decent blow on her shoulder. But Lyn easily cut through him in a second, making him drop just as quickly as the first. I ran over, and helped Lyn stand.

"Don't you have a vulnerary or something?"

"Ah, good idea," Lyn replied. She took one from the pack on her back, and healed herself. "Now the last bandit is probably by the ger."

"A…ger?"

"A ger is a kind of round hut that nomads live in. They're rather large…"

"Sounds like a portable home, right?"

"Correct."

"Interesting. I never knew that."

"Well, now you do!"

We both were still sneaking when we came to the ger. A man was shouting and swearing, mainly boasting about how strong he was. "I am Batta the Beast! No one can defeat me!"

"Well, roar!" I shouted in return. Lyn stared at me strangely as I shrugged. "It's a saying of my brothers'. Go get him!"

Lyn sighed, and I watched from a distance. _…She's good. It doesn't matter that this 'Batta' is a beast, she'll beat him._ And she did. It was a close shave, she was injured, but she was alright. Wiping the blood from her blade, I felt my legs give way beneath me. "…I think I'm too stressed."

"Ryuuko, are you alright?"

"I'm fi—" I began to say, but I felt my cheek hit the grass a few moments later. _Oh no, not again…_

* * *

My head ached and throbbed as I turned unconsciously in my bed. "Nng… Luke? Do you have any of those—"

"Good morning, Ryuuko!" Lyn said as soon as I opened my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

I sat there dumbfounded for a moment, and then said, "Oh yeah, hello Lyn. I'm fine, thank you." Lyn handed me some bread and something that looked like a type of fruit, and I scoffed it down. "Mm, this is good fruit! What is it; I've never tasted it before!"

"It's called a pear. Is it good?"

"Delicious!"

I took another bite, letting the juice dribble down my chin. "I'm sorry for fainting."

"Why are you apologizing? Everyone faints once and a while. The battle must have taken a lot out of you," said Lyn. I nodded, and sighed as I sunk back into the sheets. I felt more tears welling up, and I quickly brushed them away. _Ryuu, don't you dare cry!_

"Ryuuko? What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing, Lyn," I quickly replied, but the tears continued coming, once again. _…Blast. I didn't want this to happen again…aw, tarts._ "I'm sorry, Lyn. I'm just…having a mood swing, that's all. My brothers…if they're not here looking for me…th-they're probably dead. What am I going to do? I can't go home—Mum and Father will kill me! Well, rather Mum, but still! Where am I going to go?"

Lyn smiled, and said, "Ryuuko, you said that you were a tactician, correct?"

"Yep."

"Well, I want to grow stronger with a sword. We could travel together! You could be my mater tactician, and I could be your peerless warrior!"

I nodded, but then asked, "What about your parents? I'm sure they'll want to know where you're going. My father did. You should ask them first…right? Hey, I haven't seen anyone else besides those bandits from yesterday." I looked around and asked, "Where are your parents?"

"My…parents," Lyn repeated. She grew quiet and pale, and I could see tears forming in her eyes. _Oh no…I said something wrong._ "My parents were killed in a bandit attack six years ago. My tribe—the Lorca—I'm the last of them. It's just me. The bandits came at night, they killed everyone." Lyn's face was soon streaked with tears. I felt a twinge of guilt. I had parents waiting for me back home. My mother probably wouldn't be happy to see me, but I had Father and my brothers. But now…my brothers were gone. We were in the same situation, so to speak.

"Lyn…I'm sorry," I muttered, unsure of how to react. I knew what to do when my brothers were crying—which was rare, might I add—but this was a completely different situation. "I can't say that I know how you feel, but…I really am."

Lyn sniffed, wiped her eyes, and pulled herself to her full height. "It's alright, Ryuuko. I've just been alone for so long…it's hard not to feel this way sometimes."

"Again, I can't say I understand, but I'll take up your offer if you stop crying."

Lyn nodded, and said, "Alright then. We'll travel together."

I grinned, and nodded. "This…this is going to be different for me! I've only traveled with my brothers…I've never had to travel with another girl before! I'm so excited!"

Lyn's mouth was turned down in question, and I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "I had…ten brothers, Lyn. I didn't really need anybody else at the time."

"Ten?"

"Ten. And they were all the greatest brothers I could ever have."


End file.
